Feather & Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify feathers by species — with feather type, plumage, colours, size, habitat, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Red-billed Hornbill
A small African hornbill with a long red bill, spotted grey-brown upperparts, and white underparts, common in savanna and open woodland.
other
Long-billed Dowitcher
A close relative of the Short-billed Dowitcher with a proportionally longer bill and more extensively barred, deeper rufous breeding underparts, generally favoring freshwater habitats over saline coastal flats.
shorebird
Thick-billed Murre
A stocky, high-latitude relative of the Common Murre, distinguished by blacker upperparts, a thicker bill marked with a pale line along the gape, and a hardier tolerance for icy waters.
seabird
Yellow-billed Kite
A widespread African kite closely related to the Black Kite, distinguished by its bright yellow bill and dark brown plumage, common around towns, wetlands, and open savanna.
raptor
Ring-necked Duck
A medium diving duck with a peaked head shape and a glossy black back, best distinguished from scaup by a white vertical spur at the base of the wing rather than a grey back.
waterfowl
Common Scoter
The Common Scoter is the Eurasian counterpart of the Black Scoter, a sea duck whose breeding male is entirely black apart from a yellow-orange patch along the ridge of the bill.
waterfowl
Common Greenshank
A tall, pale gray shorebird with greenish legs and a long, slightly upturned bill, the Old World counterpart to the yellowlegs.
shorebird
Common Eider
The Common Eider is a large, heavy-bodied sea duck whose male shows a striking white back and breast against a black belly and crown, with a distinctive sloping bill-and-head profile.
waterfowl
Common Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens, with males showing sleek all-black plumage and a bright bill, while females and juveniles are a more camouflaged sooty brown with subtle mottling.
songbird
Common Tern
A widespread and familiar tern of coasts and inland waters, identified by its black cap, forked tail, red-orange bill with a black tip, and a dark wedge along the leading edge of the outer wing.
seabird
Alpine Chough
A glossy black mountain corvid with a short yellow bill, often seen soaring at very high altitudes near cliffs and mountain huts.
corvid
Thick-billed Longspur
The Thick-billed Longspur is a shortgrass prairie songbird whose breeding males show a black cap and breast crescent set against gray-brown plumage, identified partly by its notably stout bill.
songbird
Sedge Wren
A tiny North American wren of wet sedge meadows, streaked above with a short indistinct eyebrow and a habit of cocking its short tail.
songbird
Eurasian Bullfinch
A stocky, short-billed finch with a black cap, grey back, and a rosy-pink breast in males, easily told by its bright white rump patch in flight.
songbird
Caspian Tern
The largest tern in the world, approaching the size of some gulls, unmistakable for its massive deep red bill, heavy build, and loud, harsh call.
seabird
Royal Tern
One of the largest terns, approaching gull-like proportions, with a heavy orange bill and a shaggy black crest that is often reduced to a ragged crown patch outside the breeding season.
seabird
Eurasian Curlew
Europe and Asia's largest curlew, with a long downcurved bill and streaky grayish-brown plumage, best known for its evocative bubbling call across moorlands and mudflats.
shorebirdEurasian Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens and woodland, with males entirely glossy black offset by a bright yellow-orange bill, while females are a more subdued dark brown.
songbird
Atlantic Puffin
A small, tuxedo-patterned seabird famous for its large, brightly colored bill in the breeding season, spending most of the year far out at sea before returning to nest on coastal cliffs and islands.
seabird
Black-legged Kittiwake
A truly pelagic gull that spends most of its life far out at sea, recognized by its clean gray-and-white plumage, black legs, and wingtips that look as though they were dipped in black ink.
seabird
Great Skua
A powerfully built, gull-sized seabird cloaked in dark brown plumage flecked with rufous and buff, best known for its bold white wing-flash and aggressive, piratical habits.
seabird
White Stork
A large, unmistakable white stork with black wing feathers and a bright red bill and legs, famous for its rooftop nests and long migrations between Europe and Africa.
wading bird
Eurasian Spoonbill
A tall, all-white wading bird with a distinctive spoon-shaped bill, recognized by its clean white plumage and, in breeding season, a shaggy nape crest and pale yellow breast band.
wading bird
Downy Woodpecker
The smallest North American woodpecker, its black-and-white checkered feathers and short bill make it a common and easily identified backyard bird.
woodpecker